It’s not every day that video game players complain that a video game is too violent.

You’d expect the almost universally praised BioShock Infinite (available on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC) to undergo a loyalty test on Glenn Beck’s far-right website, considering how it combines religion and politics to skewer the idea of American exceptionalism, but the far more interesting detractions come from inside the video game industry itself. Their verdict? Infinite shot itself in the foot with its over-the-top, unnecessary gore. Kirk Hamilton at Kotaku compiled a fairly damning photo essay on the disconnect between nuanced story and bloody massacres. Penny Arcade made its three-panel comment. Even former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski, inventor of none-too-subtle chain saw bayonet for Gears of War, suggested less would’ve been more.

I won’t say they’re wrong. But I can say without hesitation that Infinite’s often-gruesome carnage makes a very important point … one that enhances the overall experience far more than it detracts.

The first 30 minutes set you up. Infinite introduces you, playing as former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt, to the wonderous floating city of Columbia with a deliberate, gentle hand. No killing. No violence. This is a sunny, brilliant, magical place where barges float in carrying barbershop quartets singing The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” It’s festival day. Everyone’s happy. Everything’s bright and beautiful.

Then this happens:

Cracks show in the utopia well before you grind a guy’s face into hamburger. That happens just after you’re invited to “throw the first ball!” at the celebratory stoning of an interracial couple. Infinite swiftly follows that emotionally brutal choice with this physical violence, and it’s a completely wrenching moment, totally disconnected from everything you’ve done for the last half-hour.

I confess, I wasn’t ready for it. The shift in tone hits without mercy. Columbia is not perfect. It’s ugly, xenophobic, and ready to explode.

Narratively speaking, that’s a success. The veil drops like a hammer, and you’re right in that moment when it falls, engaged and reacting as designed. From here, the blood flows in great, rushing rivers for the next 12 hours. Heads explode in your sniper scope. Melee attacks routinely involve bloody decapitation. Crows feast on people whom you also set on fire.

I can see where that’s kind of a turn-off, and given the far more gruesome extremities of its competition, that’s saying something. And truth be told, Booker’s ultra-violent killing spree extends well past that one very effective moment. Fortunately, Infinite has a much more potent trick up its sleeve.

Continue Reading ...]]>0BioShock Infinite’s extreme violence is completely validViolent video games are not to blame: Why I’d cancel my membership to the NRAhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/12/31/violent-video-games-are-not-to-blame-why-id-cancel-my-membership-to-the-nra/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/31/violent-video-games-are-not-to-blame-why-id-cancel-my-membership-to-the-nra/#commentsMon, 31 Dec 2012 17:00:00 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=595344I'm not a member of the NRA. But if I were, I'd cancel my membership immediately. Violent games are not to blame for the Newton tragedy, and they won't make anyone more proficient with firearms.
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I’m a freelance games journalist. I write for some of the most progressive publications on the planet. I’m also a gun owner, supporter of the 2nd Amendment, and nominally inclined toward the National Rifle Association.

Strange, I know.

So when the NRA blamed the Newton, Connecticut tragedy on violent video games, it struck a raw nerve.

“There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people,” NRA President Wayne LaPierre said in a December 21st statement.

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“Through vicious, violent video games with names like ‘Bulletstorm,’ ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Splatterhouse.’ And here’s one: it’s called ‘Kindergarten Killers.’ It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn’t or didn’t want anyone to know you had found it?”

Those who associate make-believe violence with real-life violence (particularly the idea that video games make kids more proficient marksmen) don’t understand gaming, firearms, or both. Since the NRA – the preeminent defender of the 2nd Amendment – is sufficiently acquainted with firearms, I’d have to conclude that it knows jack shit about gaming.

I don’t question Lt Col Dave Grossman’s expertise in firearms and marksmanship. But when the former parachute infantryman and U.S. Army Ranger calls certain games “murder simulators,” I can’t help but think that he’s never played a first-person shooter (or any video game with guns).

Anyone who’s both shot a weapon and played a video game in the last 20-30 years can point out clear differences between the two activities. Proper marksmanship entails a variety of mechanical, psychological, and physical elements that video games cannot possibly simulate.

I straddle the fence between gun owner and gamer so these discrepancies seem readily obvious to me. For example, no FPS, no matter how meticulously researched and detailed, can possibly mimic the recoil of a real-life weapon (especially the heavier automatic weapons).

Above: The Weaver shooting stance. You can observe it in movies or video games but can only learn it by picking up a real-life weapon.

I shot an M2 Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun (“Ma Deuce”) from an enclosed Humvee turret once, and my ears were ringing afterward. No video game recreates the tactile response and visceral reality of firearms.

Playing Call of Duty won’t improve your sight picture, breathing, or hand placement. Medal of Honor won’t teach you the “weaver stance” or how to absorb the recoil of a .45 1911 pistol. Putting rounds downrange is the only way to become a more proficient shooter and learn the mechanical skills for handling a sidearm.

This is a very old argument. Any reasonable person — the key word being reasonable — can sense the innate difference between holding a virtual weapon and handling the wood and metal of a real-life firearm.

But few people can exhibit a basic level of familiarity with both video games and marksmanship. And every school shooting prompts calls for tighter regulation of our industry, and “violent video games” has become an all-too familiar refrain. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has already passed a bill to direct the National Academy of Sciences to examine the link between violent video games and real-life violence. My guess? The study is inconclusive, finding no causal link between virtual entertainment and school shootings.

The Newton, Connecticut tragedy is symptomatic of many societal ills — ills that would more befit our tax dollars. Violent video games are not among them.

I’m not a member of the NRA. I support their mission but am generally adverse to large organizations. If I were, however, I would cancel my membership forthwith. Instead of launching a probe into the systematic failures that led to the Newton shootings or merely expressing their condolences, this influential lobbying group has cast aspersions on the least likely culprit.

]]>0Violent video games are not to blame: Why I’d cancel my membership to the NRANintendo E3 2012 press conference recap … in limerick formhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/06/08/nintendo-e3-2012-press-conference-recap-in-limerick-form/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/08/nintendo-e3-2012-press-conference-recap-in-limerick-form/#commentsSat, 09 Jun 2012 04:38:46 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=470892The journalists have been wined, and the buyers for retail have been dined, and the hangovers are just beginning. That means E3 is done for this year, and we enter the long wait until the holiday release season starts. Oh well, to pass the time, let’s remember all the games Nintendo mentioned in passing (or […]
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The journalists have been wined, and the buyers for retail have been dined, and the hangovers are just beginning. That means E3 is done for this year, and we enter the long wait until the holiday release season starts.

Oh well, to pass the time, let’s remember all the games Nintendo mentioned in passing (or not at all!):

Miyamoto talked about Wii U,
Hardcore gamers try not to say “P.U!”
An extra screen
May disrupt the scene.
Wait, didn’t DS do this too?

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Pikmin 3 was not so much a secret.
A year ago Miyamoto leaked it.
Little small guys,
Sight for sore eyes,
Looks like they only tweaked it .

And then appeared the man named Reggie,
Nintendo of America’s boss, who is edgy.
Won’t kick some ass,
He’s not that crass,
But not above giving a few wedgies

The Wii U Gamepad is here,
To spread Nintendo’s brand of cheer.
Two analog sticks
With touchscreen schtick,
But to me, it still looks like Game Gear.

Batman Arkham City is back,
Putting Wii U on last gen’s fast track.
Who would buy this?
And that’s not a diss,
Everyone’s already had a crack.

The exclusive Scibblenauts Unlimited
Will allow Wordsmiths to be uninhibited.
Anything you can think,
Created in a wink.
“Penis airplane”? I think I’ll win with it.

Who in the world can I thank
For an idea that can be brought to the bank?
An amazing game,
With an amazing name.
I’ll buy Wii U for Tank! Tank! Tank!

Wii Fit U may seem kind of rad,
To your mom or maybe your dad.
Gameplay disguise
For more exercise.
But please don’t step on that Gamepad.

Paper Mario is back in 3D.
So excited that I could probably pee.
I better be quicker,
With all those stickers.
Or a wet stain will extend to my knee .

Luigi’s Mansion returns to 3DS,
To clean up a supernatural mess.
A long time waiting,
For fans that be hating.
And finally requests for a sequel will rest.

Excuse me if I think it’s lame,
But ZombiU is another zombie game.
Innovative features
To kill undead creatures.
Bah! It’s just more of the same.

NintendoLand could be a light in the dark
To eliminate every gamer’s snark.
Imagine a place
With smiles on every face.
Wait! It’s not a real life amusement park?!?!

Catch up on the rest of the E3 press conference by checking out the limericks for Microsoft and Sony.

]]>0Nintendo E3 2012 press conference recap … in limerick formSony E3 2012 press conference recap … in limerick formhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/06/08/sony-e3-2012-press-conference-recap-in-limerick-form-2/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/08/sony-e3-2012-press-conference-recap-in-limerick-form-2/#commentsSat, 09 Jun 2012 04:28:33 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=470886The lights have been turned down, the speakers silenced, and the journalists are still complaining. E3 has come and gone. What better way to celebrate the end of the “Superbowl of Video Games” than with bad poetry? And seriously, let’s never use that expression again. The Sony E3 press conference went a little something like […]
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The lights have been turned down, the speakers silenced, and the journalists are still complaining. E3 has come and gone. What better way to celebrate the end of the “Superbowl of Video Games” than with bad poetry? And seriously, let’s never use that expression again.

The Sony E3 press conference went a little something like this:

Jack Tretton was first to the stand,
With visionary David Cage in hand.
A game called Beyond,
Ellen Page, her hair gone.
“Play Beyond?” Now, I understand!

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PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale
Makes characters enemies and pals.
Everyone knows,
It’s Super Smash Bros.
A good game to copy, I allow.

Assassin’s Creed 3 is on a boat,
Brand new ways to kill some red coats.
Avast me matey,
Wait, there’s a lady?
Extra Vita game to promote.

Another Far Cry is being made,
A debt to its roots has been paid.
4-player co-op
Was overwrought,
Will it get lots of store credit on a trade?

PlayStation Plus unveiled more perks,
Making other pay services look like jerks.
With PlayStation Move
They have something to prove
Like maybe the games should work?

There is no IP that is hotter,
So how can we douse it with water?
We’ll take a look,
With Wonderbook.
A buzz kill for Harry Potter.

Kratos is back from fire and soot,
Starting off at the base of the foot.
Larger than life,
Mythical strife.
Just wait until you see its boot.

The Last of Us got cheers from the place,
Showing the end of the human race.
Trouble for two.
What do we do?
Of course! Shoot ’em all in the face!

Why not check out the limericks that round up the Microsoft and Nintendo press conferences?